My Parental Memoir

Being a parent has been the most beautiful, stressful, amazing, anxiety ridden, wondrous job I have ever had.  I'm sure any parent can tell you that the moment your child is born, your life changes completely.  Everything you do or don't do affects your children.  I almost think there should be someone to preside over a wedding for you and your child on the day they enter this world.  This way you get to go through all the vows of how, for their entire lives, you will you love, care and respect this little being, with the added caveat of "for better or for worse".  That last line is oh so important for parents to realize from the get go.

Moving through parenthood, I have found things that benefited us as a family and things that I have changed as each one grew.  Parenting is a life of trial and error, but the most important thing is that you are acting from a place of love.  Although my husband's and my techniques may not always have the results we intended, we acted with pure intention.  Parenting isn't about manipulating your children into behaving a certain way, it isn't about putting on a face so that others think you're the best, it isn't about being their friend (that comes later in life).  As we have realized, parenting is about teaching, but it is also about learning.  Part of that learning comes from your children.  Letting go of the ego that wants to always be right we have come to understand that at times we, as parents, are the students and the children are our teachers.

My husband and I have been on quite the roller coaster ride, but it is one that we do not intend to get off of, even through the "for worse" times.   For us, open parenting has been one thing that has benefited us and our children.  With this, I mean that we do not hover over every little thing they do.  Children will, and should, learn to make their own choices.  Even though there have been, and will be, plenty of times that we could foresee the train wreck in the distance, they need to learn there are consequences to their choices.  Would I like to keep each of our children in this safe little bubble I created in my mind?  Absolutely, but then what would be the point?  What kind of life would this be for them, or us, without experience as the guide for future choices.  Our children know that they can tell us anything, and believe me, some things we really wish they would have kept to themselves.  Nevertheless, they need to know there is someone there that will not judge them, because there will be plenty of other children and their parents who have mastered the art of judging.  

We have learned that there is no sense in pretending our children are angels 100% of the time.  We know, and they know we know, that they are not perfect little angels.  Expecting perfection is a tragic mistake parents make.  In wanting perfection, you are only setting yourself and your child up for failure.  Perfection is an unattainable word that exists in a magical land.  In my humblest opinion, get rid of it!  Our children have made mistakes, just as we have.

When children put on the Eddie Haskell effect, as I call it, they are not being themselves, instead they are putting on a false perception to deceive.  Don't get me wrong, children should be taught manners and common courtesy (which, by the way, is lacking for many, including their parents).  What I am talking about it the over the top, fake, huge smile and high octave voice that many use to hide the not so great behavior they really do when not around their parents and other adults.  This is where I believe my husband and I have made positive connections with our children in that they do not feel they need to put on a mask, which then results in poor behavior and choices behind our backs.  If your child is a teen and seems to be this super sweet angel all the time, you might want to reevaluate the situation and be honest with yourself.  In my opinion, this is a disservice to them as they will grow up to be unhappy adults who wear a mask and pretend to be something they are not.  When, in reality, they are extremely miserable inside and this will create all kinds of health and relationship issues.

I am not a psychologist or relationship expert, all I know is what works and does not work for myself and my family.  What I do know is that we have raised strong, intelligent, honest and compassionate beings.  To elaborate on the last point, in teaching our children compassion for others, they have learned to have compassion for themselves as well.  Having compassion for themselves is a critical step in their well being.  They know that there will be choices they make that may bring positive or negative results, but they also know with that comes experience and lessons, leading them to continue growing into the exquisite beings they are, inside and out.  xoxoxo

7 Days of, Why Yoga?

In case you missed it, here are all of the 7 Days of, Why Yoga? in one location.  Yoga, meditation and breathing have done wonders for myself and my family.  The benefits are so numerous I could do 30 Days of, Why Yoga? and not run out of topics.  As with anything, yoga should be done for yourself, no one else.  Once you let go of all the external reasons and focus on YOU, your practice becomes even more beneficial and the results in the mind and body are, dare I say, miraculous.  So, without further ado, we are off to Day 1.

7 Days of, Why Yoga?

Okay, we all know, or have at least heard, the usual benefits of yoga like increased flexibility, balance, focus, but what if I told you there are other benefits outside that view. Over the next 7 days, I will share with you reasons that may surprise or intrigue you as to how and why you should consider adding yoga to your weekly, or even daily, routine.

Day 1: The Journal of the American Dietetic Association found a strong association between yoga practice and weight control. Why? Researchers attribute it to eating mindfully. Practicing yoga teaches us how to stay calm when faced with discomfort. This connection carries over into other areas of our lives, making it easier to incorporate healthier choices. What's more, the study found no such link between mindful eating and other types of physical activity.

Day 2: Depression can overtake our lives, leaving us feeling out of control. We all have down days and cloudy, rainy weather does not help to brighten our mood. When depression is trying to take hold, a study in the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, found those practicing yoga had decreased levels of depression after class. Yoga relieves stress from the body and mind by raising endorphin levels. This leaves a feeling of calm, happy centeredness. To truly kick depression to the curb, try incorporating yoga at least twice per week for 30 days and see how you feel.  

Day 3: Bye Bye digestive woes. Yoga activates the part of your nervous system responsible for relaxation. This, in turn, helps to reduce stress in the body which wreaks havoc on our bellies. No more spending countless hours in the bathroom. Studies show that regularly practicing yoga balances the nervous system, allowing you to maintain digestive health.

Day 4: Metabolism a little sluggish? Practicing yoga at least twice per week can give your metabolism just the boost it needs to get back in the game. Certain postures, such as inversions (downward dog) and those that bring the chin to the chest (bridge) help to stimulate the thyroid and parathyroid glands in the neck. Coming out of the postures brings a release and, therefore, sends more blood flow to the region in the neck which improves circulation and regulates metabolism.

Day 5: The National Sleep Foundation states 48% of Americans struggle with insomnia, 22% facing this struggle on a daily basis. Lack of sleep results in more than just leaving us feeling tired. The effects can create issues with safety on the job, at home, on the road, it can increase the risk of heart disease, depression, anxiety, weight gain and it destroys grey matter in the brain. So what are we to do? Various studies, including one from Harvard Medical School, found that having a regular yoga practice, combined with some form of meditation, greatly reduces sleepless nights. Participants in the studies reported that it took less time to fall asleep, they slept longer and they felt more rested upon waking up. Even better, these results were noticed almost immediately after incorporating yoga and meditation into their routine.

Day 6: Clear, Radiant, Glowing skin is an added perk to practicing yoga regularly. You don't have to practice Hot Yoga to create heat and warm up the muscles, tendons and ligaments. By flowing through any series of postures or breathing techniques you allow the body to rid itself of toxins, balance hormones and reduce stress, all of which leaves you with smooth, toned, supple skin. For the face in particular, inverted postures such as downward dog, forward folds or dolphin brings the blood flow towards the face resulting in a healthy, less wrinkled, complexion.  

Day 7: Although this area has lots of amazing things to offer, I think we can all agree that one of those things is not so great. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, more than 50 million American's suffer from Allergies, with Louisville, KY. always ranking in the top 5 for the worst. Allergies can appear as breathing issues, skin rashes, Asthma, eye conditions and more. They can cause auto-immune disorders to flare up, make us tired and just down right miserable. Stress increases the allergy response, but don't despair, there is hope! Research shows yoga poses that invert the upper body (downward facing dog), backbends (bridge) and chest openers (cobra), combined with breathing techniques (alternate nostril breathing) help in alleviating allergy symptoms. Yoga calms the individual and gets lymphatic fluids moving and draining, all of which can prevent allergy symptoms from becoming worse. So on your way home from yoga practice go ahead, "stop and smell the roses".

Our Snow Day

Do I wish I lived in Hawaii?  Why, yes, yes I do, but I don't.  So, when the weather decides that everyone needs a timeout, and the town is pretty much shutdown, we make the best of it.  Since the girls are home-schooled, it's business as usual with the schooling side of things.  Then it's game on to make things feel warm and sunny.

*All recipes will follow the blog post, so be sure to continue reading for some deliciousness!

The day starts with taking the fur babies out to play, run around and tackle each other in the snow, they are extremely entertaining!  Then we all trample back inside and I begin preparing the *dogs breakfast (check out my post from May 26th and June 12th, 2014).  Knowing their bellies are full, I proceed to filling my belly with a warm cup of herbal coffee.  Taking a break from the caffeine for the last few weeks and I feel great, but still get the comfort of my morning cup with this awesome brand called Teeccino.  Along with the "coffee", I make some stovetop *oatmeal.  The girls were still sleeping, and I love being with them, but the morning's are my time to mindfully prepare myself and enjoy my breakfast in silence; no electronics, no talking, no TV, it truly is heaven, you should try it.  Then off to the home office to begin posting cancellation notices for class, sending emails, updating sites.

Once the girls wake up it's cereal made from beans, Power O's by Love Grown Foods, with our *homemade almond milk.  Okay, I know how that sounds completely unappetizing, but seeing as we limit the processed stuff, this product is a perfect compromise and only has a few whole ingredients.  The girls love it!  On to a few hours of school and then break time as the girls and dogs go out to play.  My youngest comes back in out of breath and red faced.  After changing into dry clothes and applying some unrefined coconut oil to her cheeks, we head to the kitchen for our lunch.

With all the extreme weather they were predicting a day earlier, I figured I might as well purchase some sunflowers to have our own sunshine inside.  Using the flowers as inspiration, the *juice for today was a bright and sunny creation.  That was good for me, but the girls also had *open face cracker sandwiches.

After lunch we decided to relax, but awhile later we needed to move our bodies with some yoga, which felt really good and was much needed.  Finally, it was about time to get dinner going.  So, what do you have for dinner on a snowed in day?  Breakfast of course!  *French toast with *maple cinnamon whipped cream.  I ended up making four batches because the girls couldn't get enough.  It seriously is so dang good!  Finished eating and on to preparing the *pups dinner, believe me, they have built in alarms in their stomachs when it's dinner time.  Now it's time for some chamomile tea and whoppin' the girls in Monopoly (my little one destroyed us the last time we played, so tonight's come back time :).

Sweet Potato Surprise (Dogs Breakfast)

Ingredients:
approx. 3 1/2 c. pureed sweet potatoes
9 c. old fashioned oatmeal (cooked)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 c. natural peanut butter
Ground flax meal (my big girl gets 3 Tbsp., the other three each get 2 Tbsp.)
Probiotic (my big girl gets 3/4 tsp., the other three each get 1/4 tsp.)

Directions:
1.  Place probiotic and flax meal into each dogs individual bowl.
2.  Combine remaining ingredients into large bowl, mix well and divide accordingly (depends on weight.  Mya is 80 lbs. so she gets 4 rounded cups, Janie and Chevy are 36 lbs. so they get 2 3/4 c. each and Pugsley is 30 lbs. so he gets 2 1/4 c.)

Morning Oatmeal
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. dried cherries
1 Tbsp. raw almond butter
1/2 Tbsp. agave or raw honey
2 Tbsp. raw pumpkin seeds
Homemade almond milk

Directions:
1.  Bring water to a boil, add oats, turn down to simmer cook according to package directions (time may vary depending on brand).
2.  Once cooked, add remaining ingredients, stir and enjoy.

Homemade Almond Milk
Makes about 2 liters

Ingredients:

2 c. raw almonds
6 c. filtered water
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
10-12 pitted dates* or 1-2 Tbsp. agave (depends on how sweet you like)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1.  Soak almonds in water overnight (make sure water covers them well as they will absorb some and puff up).
2.  In the morning, drain water, rinse and fill high speed blender with fresh water (6 cups) and almonds.  Process until well blended, 30 seconds - 1 minutes depending on blender strength.
3.  Place milk nut bag in bowl, pour blender contents through bag.  Squeeze bag to get all the milk out.
4.  Rinse blender, pour milk back in, add remaining ingredients and blend again.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.  Store almond pulp in a freezer proof bag in the freezer until ready to use in a recipe.

*You are straining, so if the amount of dates bothers you, you are not truly consuming the full amount at once because it's mostly in the pulp, which you'll use in another recipe to make multiple servings of muffins, cookies, pancakes, etc.

Sunshine Juice
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1/2 c. coconut water
2 large oranges (peeled, use peels for cleaning and deodorizing sink and garbage disposal)
1/2 c. papaya
1 organic cucumber
1/2 c. pineapple (optional if you want it sweeter)
2 large carrots

Directions:
1.  Place coconut water in a large glass.
2.  Send ingredients through juicer in order listed.

Open Face Sandwiches
Serves 1

Ingredients:
6 round crackers (the less processed and artificial ingredients the better)
6 pieces nondairy cheese of choice
2 pieces Tofurkey, cut into 6 pieces (optional, contains gluten so avoid if gluten allergy)
2 cherry tomatoes (optional), sliced into 6 pieces

Directions:
1.  Place one of each item on top of a cracker, repeat until all sandwiches are created.

Best French Toast Ever
Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:
6 slices bread of choice (thicker drier bread works best when making french toast, we like The Little Northern Bakehouse or sprouted by Silver Hills)
1 ripe banana
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut sugar
2/3 c. homemade almond milk
Coconut spray for griddle

Directions:
1.  Heat griddle over medium high heat for several minutes.
2.  Mash banana in a shallow bowl.
3.  Add remaining ingredients, whisk well.
4.  Dip each piece of bread in mixture, coating both sides, allow excess to drip off.
5.  Spray griddle with coconut spray, reduce heat to medium and place coated bread on griddle.  Cook 3-4 minutes each side or until golden brown.
6.  Serve with any toppings you choose.

Maple Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:
1 can coconut cream (not light)
1/4 c. pure maple syrup (please no Aunt Jemima or Mrs. Butterworth :))
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Place can in fridge for several hours to firm contents (although the Trader Joe brand is pretty thick so you don't really need to with that one).
2.  Scoop out cream and place in a bowl, there will be about 1/4 cup worth of water, drain water off and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for another recipe (like a smoothie).
3.  Add remaining ingredients and mix with a hand mixer until fluffy and well combined.  Store in the fridge until ready to use and to keep it from softening too much.

Protein Packed Dinner (Pups Dinner)

5 c. rice, cooked
4 1/2 c. great northern beans (made from dried to reduce gas and make it easier for them to digest, see March 16th, 2012 post for cooking dried beans)
1 lb. drained organic tofu
Nutritional Yeast (Mya gets 1-2 Tbsp., the others get 1/2-1 Tbsp.)
Unrefined Coconut Oil (Mya gets 1 heaping Tbsp., the other 1 Tbsp.)
Diatomaceous Earth (Mya gets 1 Tbsp., the others 3/4 Tbsp.)
Green Mush (Mya gets 1 Tbsp., the others 2 tsp.)

Directions:
1.  Place single ingredients into individuals bowls (nutritional yeast, coconut oil, DE, Green Mush).
2.  Place all other ingredients into large bowl, mix well.  Divide accordingly (for us it goes like this… Mya gets 4 rounded cups, Janie and & Chevy get 2 rounded cups, Pugsley gets 1 rounded plus 1/2 c.)

I hope you all enjoy our recipes as much as we, and the pups, do and please post your version or any comments you may have, I love to get the feedback!